As the session progressed, Hiro dazzled everyone with his brilliant performance. He aced almost every test, leaving no room for error.
By the time the final test had concluded the sun had already sunk. The sky was a vast canvas painted in the dark with glittery stars shimmering against the darkness.
Beep!
The shrill sound of the whistle echoed as the test concluded.
Exhausted, players dropped to their knees as they heard the whistle. After going through such
a hell of a session, almost no one had the strength left to stand upright.
Sweat trickled down their face onto the grassy field, enrichening the grass petals with their
sweat.
"I know, you all are tired but let's wait for a while to get the test results," said Akira, trying to console the players.
The players didn't even have the strength left to object. Many couldn't even bring themselves to speak as they were panting heavily.Their heart rate was at an all-time high. And though they had ceased their actions, they could still feel their heart racing.
However, a few of them still had the energy left to talk.
"At least, we could rely on their physicality," said one of the coach, satisfied with their performance.
"Yeah, some of these players are so young yet they can easily outperform the adults," one of the coaches said hinting at Hiro and a few of the younger players.
Meanwhile, Hiro was contemplating about his performance. He had performed to the best of his abilities. So, even if they were to be ranked, he should comfortably place in the top 3.
But how accurately will the device record their data?
It had him questioning.
Then he swept his glance around him, observing the state of other players. Along with exhaustion, he could also see the concern etched on some of their faces.
While sweeping his gaze, his eyes landed on Naoto.
It was rather surprising to see him perform so well in the drills before. Despite being the second-choice keeper, he outperformed both Aya and the third-choice keeper.
It was rather surprising to see him perform so well in physical drills.
Though it wasn't a new thing to Hiro, it probably was pretty surprising for others. However, something had got him to contemplate.
'Shun might have a chance'
In terms of physicality, Shun could even outperform Naoto despite being younger than him. So, if the keepers in the national team couldn't even defeat Naoto, it'd imply that Shun was superior to the keepers of the national team in terms of physicality.
Hence, he believed that it wouldn't take long for Shun to make it to the team.
But a keeper relies more on intuition and experience rather than physique. After all, it's the only position in the field where a player doesn't need to keep moving constantly.
And in terms of reflexes and technique, he paled in comparison to the others.
Thinking about the other aspects of goalkeeping, he immediately dispelled the thoughts in his head, shaking his head vigorously, "Or not"
However, as a friend, he wanted to believe in him. It's not that he hadn't been following his progress but recently he could tell that he had started getting a bit cocky due to the fame.
It had got him worried since he didn't want his friend to waste his potential.
But after a recent talk with him, he confirmed his resolve to improve. So, he wasn't as concerned as he was before.
Finally, after a short wait, Coach Nanami stepped forward holding his tablet. The result had been sent to his tablet.
Even before he began to speak, players could tell that the results were out.
So, despite the exhaustion, they forced themselves to stand as they began to gather around Nanami. Most of their breathing was still ragged while most were still sweating profusely. Even so, everybody present on the field was curious about the results.
"Cough! You all have done well. So, I want all of you to accept your result as it is. We still have the time to improve. So, don't get discouraged about the results," Nanami harrumphed before proceeding to speak.
At this moment, many players frowned.
They could tell that the results were rather devastating. Otherwise, why would he try to console them even before showing them the results?
Those who had performed poorly felt their heart palpitating.
The coach only announced the overall result by averaging the data they had collected from the players over several tests conducted just now.
The list went as follows:
1) Hiro Takahashi: 91/100
2) Tatsuki Seko: 89/100
3) Tominaga Nijichi: 85/100
and so on...
It wasn't a surprise to others, Hiro clearly dominated the chart. Though it came as a surprise to Hiro. The numbers were rather high.
To older players present on the field, it was quite astonishing for the youngest player to be
rated so highly among all others.
It was like a direct slap to their face.
You're telling me he's got an even greater physique than us who have trained in European ways? What load of bullshit is this?
They were furious.
Though the elites had yet to arrive they weren't someone that should lose to a child.
"Coach, perhaps the result isn't accurate?"
"Yeah coach, how could we place so low?"
It hadn't even been a minute since Nanami announced the result then the older players started complaining about the result.
Disgruntled, they weren't satisfied with the result.
However, it was only the players belonging to the club outside Japan who were acting as such. The players from the home league although a bit disheartened weren't complaining about the
test result,
After all, most of the tests had been taken right in front of them and they had witnessed the marvel of Hiro.
Yet they were shamelessly complaining about the authenticity of the outcome.
It was as if the coaches had forged the results to favor Hiro.
"There's no problem with the report. It's totally just," Nanami clarified confidently. "Later we'll send you your test results and individual attribute scores to your phone. You all can analyze it yourself. Until then I don't want any of you complaining about the result. You got
it?"
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